JUST what they were after. 

It was a solid first outing for the VFLW Blues, who took home a 24-point win against Port Melbourne at home. 

The Blues started strong from the get go, kicking the first three majors, whilst also keeping Port goalless until the second quarter. 

By the half-time break, Carlton had slotted five goals to Port Melbourne’s one, as they continued to control the ball at both ends of the ground. 

While the Blues were held scoreless in the third, they were able to mitigate the damage in defence, with Port unable to capitalise on their territory dominance. 

The final term was sealed with a goal from captain Christina Bernardi - who delivered a dominant game with 23 disposals and five tackles - seeing Carlton take home the four points. 

The reigning best and fairest winner Amelia Klingbeil picked up where she left off, picking up 20 disposals and nine tackles, while Maddie Di Cosmo (third place in best and fairest) gathered 17 disposals and laid eight tackles. 

Paige Trudgeon (AFL-listed) was a rock in defence for the Blues, putting into play her trademark spoils and intercepts, while Annie Lee (AFL-listed) did her part in defence whilst also hitting the scoreboard. 

Speaking to Carlton Media post game, Lee said the pressure and the conversions from turnover were what got them over the line today, with the team using strong communication to convert their chances in front of goal. 

“The girls’ tackling and pressure on the ball and all around the ground was really strong and we were able to get a lot of turnovers,” Lee said.  

“That meant more chances to get it down our forward end and keep it there. The girls were also really loud with their communication with the set ups that they have and were able to work around when the game was close.” 

On their first outing with Bernardi at the helm, Lee praised the skipper’s leadership and ability to lead by example. 

“‘Benno’ was everywhere and really stood up in her captaincy,” she said.  

“She was setting a really solid benchmark for where we needed to be with our intensity, but was also creating a lot of drive and attacking when coming through the middle.” 

Carlton will take on Geelong in Round 2 at IKON PARK, 11:00am (AEST). 

Match summary 

CARL   3.1 (19)   5.6 (36)   5.6 (36)   6.8 (44)
PORT MELB   0.3 (3)   1.4 (10)   2.6 (18)   2.8 (20)Goals:Bernardi, Cowan, Honybun, Khoury, Lee, Thorneycroft